


I want to stay with you

by HopesandDreams (orphan_account)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Non-Binary Chara, Non-Binary Frisk, Other, Past Abuse, Post-Pacifist Route, ratings/warnings might change, the charisk takes a while to happen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-06-04 21:10:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6675583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/HopesandDreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the monsters reach the surface it's not as great as everyone hoped. They Frisk is taken away from them and is forced to live with a human family.<br/>Meanwhile Chara and Asriel have latched onto Frisk's soul and are doing what they can to help them.<br/>It's up to Frisk to show the humans that the monsters mean no harm and they can co-exist peacefully.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is set at the end of the story.  
> Also it's quite short and hopefully the chapters will be longer in the future.

Frisk woke up to the smell of butterscotch-cinnamon pie drifting through their room. They’d forgotten how good it smelt. They opened their eyes and glanced around the bedroom. It was almost empty and the walls were bare but no place had ever felt more like home. In the centre of the room sat a slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie, still warm. Giggling they leapt up and took a huge bite of it. Instantly a rush of warmth filled them with energy and DETERMINATION. “Frisk, is that you.” Toriel’s voice sounded from below. With their mouth still filled with pie Frisk made a sound of acknowledgement and gripping the plate tightly rushed down the stairs and almost fell over as they zoomed into the kitchen where Toriel was standing over the rest of the pie.

“Frisk, my child!” she exclaimed “I hope you are well rested.” Frisk nodded vigorously. Toriel moved across to the sink which was filled with dirty baking equipment and began to wash up as Frisk finished their slice of pie. After taking the final bite they dropped the plate with a soft clang and wrapped their arms around Toriel, burring their head in her clothes. She reciprocated and Frisk gripped tighter.

“I love you Mum” they whispered.

“I love you too my child” she replied softly “and I’m so glad everything has worked out this way – even if it did take such a long time.” For a moment they held onto each other, tears building up as the thought of the journey and sacrifice that had got them there.

“HUMAN!” the shout interrupted their thoughts “I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE TIRED AFTER EVERYTHING YOU’VE DONE SO I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS MADE YOU SPAGHETTI.” Frisk quickly pulled out of Toriel’s arms and ran to the door to find Papyrus, spaghetti in one hand, the other on his chest and his cape flowing back dramatically in the breeze. They smiled widely and giggled, snatching the plate out of Papyrus’ hand. They engulfed a huge mouthful without giving a second thought to what it might taste like. It was better than last time – obviously Papyrus had been practicing. There were still a few hard lumps and the sauce tasted a little funny but even so this was the best food Frisk had tasted for a while (with the exception of Toriel’s butterscotch-cinnamon pie). They wondered if the love the food had been made with somehow got into it and made it taste nicer.  
Frisk kept shovelling until Toriel crept up behind them and lightly tapped their shoulder.

“Slow down Frisk, we wouldn’t want you being sick would we?” Frisk frowned but nodded. Reluctantly they handed the half empty plate back to Papyrus.

“Thank you Papyrus!” they said in a sing-song voice, smiling up at him.

“WOWIE THERE’S SOME LEFT FOR ME! I’M GLAD THE GREAT PAPYRUS COULD BE OF SERVICE TO YOU HUMAN!” He spun himself out of view. Frisk let out another giggle.

“Come back inside” Toriel gestured “we need to get you well rested for the picnic today.” Frisk’s eyes lit up. The picnic, they had almost forgotten. They turned to look at the mountain where all of their friends would be meeting them later that day. It looked beautiful with the orange and pink sunrise just reaching over it and the tress swaying side to side, dancing to the rhythm of the wind. Frisk couldn’t wait. They could finally celebrate the victory that should have been theirs months ago.


	2. The Surface

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is set just after the pacifist ending before the credits. It's another quite short chapter and this and the next one were meant to be one chapter but this seemed like a good point to end a chapter.
> 
> My tumblr is asrieldreams.tumblr.com
> 
> The angst should come next chapter!

 

Frisk stopped walking. Toriel felt a slight tug on their hand and quickly turned around, eyes wide with worry.

“My child…” she began until she noticed Frisk’s mouth open, ready to tell her something.

“I’m scared” Frisk whispered. Their journey through the underground had been terrifying at times but Frisk had always believed they would get through it; there had always been a specific thing they were trying to achieve. The surface was different though. Frisk had no idea what might happen next, the obstacles the monsters might face or what they were really aiming for. The uncertainty scared them more than any monster in the underground ever had.

“You’re going to be okay Frisk. Just think about what you’ve done. You made an impact on every monster in the underground. You saved us all even before the barrier was destroyed. Now we’re back on the surface no one will try and kill you. You’re safe.” She said, placing her hand on Frisk’s shoulder.

“But someone might want to hurt you.” Terror shook in Frisk’s voice.

“Don’t worry Frisk, it’s all going to be okay” Toriel said softly. The words immediately calmed Frisk. They stood in silence for a second and then resolved to fix problems if and when they encountered them. With a new confidence, they took hold of Toriel’s hand again and continued walking.

It wasn’t long before they reached where the others had been waiting. Many other monsters had now joined them, most of them looking at the sun with their eyes and mouth wide open. Frisk looked around at what almost seemed like heaven. The sun was now almost fully risen and everything seemed to radiate happiness with the warm yellow sunlight smiling down onto it. Many of the monsters were gathered in small groups where the path widened, but as far as Frisk could see monsters were scattered along the path, joyfully point at anything they didn’t have in the underground. Frisk watched lave spew out of Vulkin as it hopped up and down excitedly and then turned to a pair of Froggits jumping almost as high as the clouds.  A wide smile spread across Frisk’s face. Seeing everyone this happy had made them instantly forget any worries they previously had. For a while Frisk was lost in their joy, skipping around petting any dogs they passed and smiling at every monster they saw. It was Undyne who finally spotted them and snapped them out of it.

“Hey Punk! Come over here.” She shouted and waved her hands wildly in the air. It wasn’t hard to spot her surrounded by Alphys, Asgore, Papyrus and Sans (who had somehow still ended up in the same place despite heading the opposite direction). Frisk turned to Toriel and pointed in their direction before running towards them. As soon as Frisk came close Undyne pulled them up into her arm and noggied them.

“Look what you did punk!” she said with Frisk still stuck firmly in her arms. “Everyone’s dreams are coming true.”

“Yea Frisk… you helped us all... thanks… and… uh… Undyne… maybe you should put Frisk down.” Alphys stuttered, looking at Frisk with a slightly concerned style.

“Oh, sorry Frisk!” Undyne said dropping Frisk to the ground. Alphys gasped slightly as Frisk hit the floor. Frisk, however, didn’t mind at all. They got up, shook out their hair and quickly brushed the dust off, smiling and laughing as they did. Undyne looked like she was about to say something but Papyrus burst in first.

“HUMAN, ASGORE HAS ASKED ME TO HELP ROUND UP ALL THE MONSTERS SO WE CAN HEAD DOWN THE MOUNTAIN. HE SAYS THESE DUTIES ARE EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN A ROYAL GUARD. MAYBE THIS IS THE BEST DAY AFTER ALL.” He yelled loudly. Out of the corner of their eye Frisk noticed Undyne roll her eyes and Asgore let out a silent chuckle. They had no chance to respond before he rushed away towards the group of dogs on the opposite side of the clearing.

“Well I’d better go and help him. See ya punk.” Undyne also ran off, quickly followed by Alphys.

“Welp I’m glad Papyrus is happy. I’d better rest I’ve done a skeleTON of work done today” Sans winked before immediately falling asleep where he stood.

“Hello Frisk, we are gathering all the monsters together and we’re going to head towards the nearest human settlement.” Frisk felt a chill go down their spine as they thought of meeting the humans, but they quickly brushed it off, telling themselves that everything would be fine. “Are you ready to be the ambassador Frisk?” Asgore said calmly. Frisk had never felt more nervous but nodded anyway.

“Well then,” Toriel interrupted “we’d better get going.” She placed her hand firmly on Frisk’s shoulder. Frisk felt a rush of DETERMINATION.

“Let us go them.” Asgore called, loudly enough for all the monsters to hear. They all looked at where Frisk stood. There was a bright spark in every single eye.

Frisk wasn’t the only one filled with DETERMINATION.

 

 


	3. The Humans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot finally starts to progress!

The journey down the mountain was fairly short but it was almost midday before the monsters first caught sight of the human village. Undyne, Alphys and Papyrus had their work cut out trying to keep control over huge mass of monsters and making sure no one got lost. Even Sans helped – he seemed to have a knack of getting to any problems quicker than the others. In general, all the monsters gladly co-operated and just followed Asgore as they had been instructed, but all of them were excited to be on the surface and some could barely contain themselves. There were a few incidents of monsters suddenly rushing off to look at something before they were herded back into the crowd and some were briefly left behind as the waddled along, more focused on the sun than walking. Despite this there they had got this far with everyone still together no major incidents.

Everyone was exhausted but there weren’t any thoughts of stopping. Frisk felt their heartbeat get faster and faster as the village neared. They struggled to keep their breath at a normal rate, not wanting to worry Toriel. They glanced back at all the monsters. The humans could probably see them right now. An army, that’s what the humans would think it was. Thousands of monsters all marching down the mountain lead by the king and queen could easily be mistaken for an army and Frisk knew that’s what the humans would assume.

Frisk looked forwards again. They noticed activity in the human village. People were coming out of buildings, pointing at the monsters, shouting at each other. A group of them formed a line across the cobbled paths, holding guns and signalled to the ones behind them to get back. Frisk tapped Toriel’s arm and pointed. She looked up then back at Frisk and nodded knowingly. Quickly she got Asgore’s attention and tilted her head towards the village. Immediately Asgore held up his hand as a signal to stop. There was a bit of shuffling and then the whole group came to a stop, except for Undyne who was sprinting and weaving through the crowds.

“Why have we stopped Asgore? We’re almost there” she asked, pointing at the village. As her eyes fell on it she suddenly realised the reason for the halt.

“I think it is best for just Frisk, Tori-“ Toriel’s face hardened at the use of the nickname. “-and I to talk to the humans. All the monsters at one might be a bit too much. Undyne, keep them here for now and make sure no one panics.”

“Sure thing Asgore!” she said enthusiastically. “You’re going to do great Punk” she added, turning to Frisk and giving them a hard pat on the head. She turned away and made her way back through the labyrinth of monsters.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” Toriel questioned Frisk as soon as Undyne left.

“Yes” Frisk assured, nodding and pulling up their stance as they did. They took a deep breath and took a step towards the humans. Asgore and Toriel followed with one of their strides meeting almost three of Frisk’s.

As the trio drew closer to the barricade of humans both groups were visibly shaking. For the monsters years of being trapped underground and many sacrifices had lead up to this moment. For the humans they were now faced with something they thought had disappeared forever more years ago than they could recall. No amount of preparation could possibly prepare them for this moment.

The silent tension held until Toriel, Asgore and Frisk were almost face to face with the humans.

“Greetings humans” Toriel began. The humans’ hands were shaking dangerously close to the triggers. Many of their eyes were shifting between Asgore, Toriel and Frisk, unable to comprehend the situation. The silence seemed to go on forever.

Then suddenly, it was broken.

One of the monsters escaped from the crowd above and ran towards a them. Before Frisk could identify who it was there was a bang.

And then there was dust.

Frisk screamed and ran towards it. Feel to the ground beside it and knelt down, burring their hands in the dust as tears poured down their face. Everything fell into chaos. The monsters all starting moving, shouting and clumping up into small, tight groups, both scared and angry. Everything seemed to slow down.

BANG. Another shot.

BANG. Again.

There was no way to tell if there were any casualties this time. Frisk got up and ran in front of the monsters, waving their arms wildly and making themselves the biggest target they could. They hoped the humans wouldn’t risk shooting a child.

“STOP!” they screamed at the top of their voice “STOP, EVERYONE… please.” Everyone froze, all eyes were now pointed on Frisk. They focused their glare on the humans. “You don’t have to hurt them. They’re not here to hurt you.” The woman in the middle of the line of humans looked at the man beside her and signalled something to him that Frisk couldn’t understand. “Please just talk to them” they whimpered with a stream of tears still running down their face. The humans lowered their weapons and for a moment Frisk believed they were willing to listen.

Two of the humans came and grabbed Frisk on either arm. Instinctively Toriel moved towards Frisk and reached out to pull them back.

“DON’T MOVE!” yelled the woman in the middle “we’ll shoot.” She held up her gun in demonstration. “That applies to you all. Try to escape and you’re dead.” No monster dared move. Even Toriel stood rooted to her spot with tears building up in her eyes. All Frisk wanted to do in this moment was hug her but the humans pulled them away. They struggled with all their might but were no match for the two adults. One of them picked up Frisk and carried them away, ignoring their kicks and screams.

As soon as they were out of sight of them monsters, they put Frisk down and knocked on the door. It was opened by a young man wearing an apron and smelt of freshly baked bread.

“Give this kid some food and water, we’ll be back soon.” One of them said.

“Of course” he nodded to the humans. “Come in” he gestured from Frisk to the door, crouching down so he was closer to their height. They didn’t move. Instead they crossed their arms and spread their feet apart, making sure they were firmly rooted to the ground. Suddenly a shove from behind made them topple over into the hallway and the door was slammed behind them.

“Are you hurt?” the man asked. The soothing nature of his voice reminded Frisk of Toriel. They hated it. He spoke as if everything was ok. Nothing about this situation was ok. “Let me get you something” he said smiling but Frisk had no inclination to eat his food or drink his water or even sit down in his house. They wanted to be back where they belong – with the monsters.


	4. Taken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is finally as long as I hoped the chapters would be. Also I hope to update at least once a week.
> 
> My tumblr is: buttercuppie.tumblr.com

For a long time, Frisk stood completely still in the centre of the room with their arms crossed and their body stiffened. There had been many attempts by the man to get Frisk to eat something or even just sit down but they just closed their eyes and ignored each one. Eventually he let out an exasperated sigh and sat down in the kitchen with the door open, still making sure Frisk didn’t go out of sight. He had no need to worry – Frisk didn’t move an inch. They were intently focused every small noise from outside, hoping to hear what anything that could give them a clue to what was going on inside. They wanted to run through the house and search for a window they could look out of but they knew it was hopeless. All the other buildings were just as tall as this one and the people had taken them round a corner; here was no way they could see round. Even with all their focus they could only occasionally hear muffled talking and they could barely make out any words. They could tell who was speaking by the tone. The humans sounded angry but also frightened (not that they’d ever admit it) whereas Toriel and Asogre had a clear shaking terror in their voice and their tone was mostly pleading and desperate.

“…YOU…”

Please…”

They could hear nothing else. None of the sound was clear. They tried but no amount of concentration could let them hear it. They were frustrated but they didn’t let it show. They kept focused and completely still, with a small amount of hope within them. It was no use. They couldn’t hear any more.

Until one loud, clear sound rang out. It was another gunshot. It was followed by shouts. They echoed through Frisk’s head. It broke them. They couldn’t contain themselves any longer. They screamed and tears began to fall down their face. They made a break for the door and kicked it as hard as they could. No results, it remained tightly locked. The man jumped up and scooped Frisk up into his arms. They continued to kick and scream, making it as difficult for the man as they could. He winced as Frisk’s feet smashed against his legs but kept hold of them. He took them to the kitchen and quickly sat them on a chair.

“Calm down.” He said soothingly, still holding them down. Frisk tried one last time to get out of his arms but it was no use so they stopped moving and returned to their statue-like state but this time with their eyes narrowed and their lips scrunched up. The main waited for a second and then cautiously let go and flopped into the chair next to them.

“I don’t really know what’s going on. I know someone you care about is being hurt, but I trust that they are going just doing what they think is right and safest for everyone.” He smiled at Frisk but received a sharp glare in return. Anger boiled up inside Frisk.

“Fighting is NEVER the right way” they shouted. The man widened his eyes, surprised to hear them talk at all and taken aback by how strongly they had said their words.

“Sometimes fighting is the only way” he replied hopelessly. He already knew there was no changing this kid’s mind.

“Never” Frisk muttered in a barely audible voice. They rested their arms on the table and buried their head between them, letting tears fall silently down their cheek.

Frisk didn’t know how long they sat like that but there were four more gunshots. Eight, that’s how many monsters were already dead. It hadn’t even been a day since they reached the surface but they were already dead. Killed because of fear, fear of a power that they never wanted to use. Killed because the humans could see no other way. The humans were blind. Frisk remembered Asriel’s words ‘Chara hated humanity, why they did, they never talked about it.’ Frisk knew why. They understood Chara’s feelings but they knew they couldn’t let themselves think the same way. Hope is only lost when you no longer believe it exists. They had to believe in goodness, otherwise their adventure would be pointless.

A knock on the door interrupted their thoughts. Immediately the man got up and rushed to the door. It was opened by a tall woman who reminded Frisk of Undyne, but in the place of Undyne’s huge bright smile were tightly sealed, stern lips.

“We need to question the child” she said menacingly. “And would you get me a cup of tea?” The man stiffed and quickly nodded before rushing into the kitchen with his apron now looking more like a cape. The woman stomped hard onto the ground and vigorously rubbed her shoes on the mat before taking a step into the house. She stormed into the dining room and took a seat on the opposite side of Frisk to where the man had been sitting.

“I’m Mara, what’s your name?” she said without adjusting her tone of voice at all. Frisk shifted their body away from her and moved their hands above their head. They said nothing.

“What is your relationship with these monsters?” There was so much disgust in her voice as she spoke the word ‘monster’. Frisk remained silent.

“What did they do to you?” Frisk was still silent.

“They’re monsters, you know you can’t trust them, right?”

“They’re my friends!” Frisk shot back, banging their fist on the table. The man, who had just entered with the tea, almost spilled it as he jumped back in surprise.

“They’re manipulating you kid. They used you to get to the surface so they can take over humanity.” She spoke down to Frisk as if they were a naïve toddler who was seeing the world for the first time.

“No” was all Frisk said.

“They hurt you didn’t they?” she said, gesturing to Frisk’s cuts and bruises. Frisk just sunk their head back into their arms and hid their face as tears splashed onto the table.

“They’re my friends” they whispered. For a while they sat in silence. A puddle was beginning to form on the table below their head. The silence was interrupted by a beep from Mara’s pocket. Cautiously, she got up and stepped away from Frisk then turned around before pulling a small device out of her pocket and holding it up to her ear. She didn’t say anything but nodded occasionally and when the devise beeped again she put it back in her pocket and turned to Frisk.

“Come with me” She said and grabbed Frisk’s arm. They tensed up their body and stayed firmly rooted to the spot. Mara stood up, positioned themselves behind Frisk’s chair and lifted them into the air with ease. They didn’t struggle this time, instead the just continued to allow silent tears to fall down their face.

Mara carried them outside, zooming past the man without even thanking him for the tea. Soon they were in view of the monsters. Frisk looked up and smiled slightly, hoping to finally figure out what was happening, however the smile was wiped off their face as soon as they could see the situation clearly.

Undyne was being restrained by at least five people and one standing in front of her with a gun aimed at her face. Alphys was in a similar situation but with only one person restraining her. They looked desperately at each other. The humans seemed to have caught onto how much they care about each other. Every time either one of them even twitched slightly the humans would move the gun closer to the other’s head. Sans and Papyrus were in the main crowd. Papyrus held his head high and was leaning forwards as if he wanted to run out and do something to help, but Sans held tightly onto his hand, not letting him to do anything which might get him shot. Mettaton was comforting a sobbing Napstablook, surrounded by fans who all looked up to him for guidance. He looked back at them hopelessly. Toriel and Asgore were in the centre of the mess. They were still attempting to negotiate with the humans, even with a circle of loaded guns around them. Every direction they looked there were more awful things happening.

Frisk was locked in a trance. They thought they could hear someone calling their name but before they could hear any more the rev of engines sounded in the distance. The turned towards the sound and saw a parade of armoured trucks driving along the road leading to the village. In almost no time at all they reached the village. The vehicles stopped sharply and more people with guns poured out of them. The one at the front made a circular motion with his hand and gestured from the monsters to the trucks. All of the others nodded and quickly gathered into small groups, each group taking a different position around the monsters. Once they were all in place, the one who had given the command marched towards where Toriel and Asgore stood. He yelled something at them but Frisk couldn’t make out what he was saying. Asgore nodded gravely and turned towards the monsters.

“Monsters” he called “The humans have requested the we are transported in these vehicles. Please make your way into the trailers as you are instructed by the humans. You may find your family but do not panic and do not attempt to escape… you will be shot” he sighed and knelt on the ground, exhausted. Toriel also looked exhausted with huge bags under her eyes which were no longer kind and caring but grey and tired. The monsters began to move. Frisks eyes widened. They started to walk towards the monsters, hoping to go with them but make grabbed their jumper and pulled them back.

“You’re not going anywhere she said fiercely.

“But…” They pleaded. They were met only with a hard stare. Suddenly they heard Papyrus from within the crowd.

“SANS WHERE ARE THE TAKING US?”

“be quiet papyrus you’re going to get shot” Sans replied, the worried tone was far from how he usually spoke.

Frisk couldn’t take it anymore. They ducked under Mara and sprinted towards the monsters. Toriel noticed them first and screamed their name, reaching out to them but the humans just pulled harder. Hearing Toriel’s scream the other’s looked up. Undyne spoke first.

“Hey Punk! We’ll be alright. You can save us; I know you can. Don’t ever give up!”

“Yea Frisk, for you nothing is impossible” Alphys joined.

“HUMAN I BELIEVE IN YOU!” Papyrus exclaimed with such enthusiasm that Frisk couldn’t help but smile.

“you got this kiddo” Sans added, smiling at his brother, still tightly holding his hand.

“Be our star Frisk” Mettaton said followed by cheers of his fans. Once the cheering died down Asgore spoke

“You are our future Frisk”

“Be well my child” Toriel said softly.

There was one last voice that spoke to Frisk, but no one else heard it.

_“Frisk, you have to do this, stay DETERMINED.”_

It was the last thing Frisk heard before they felt a sharp pain in their arm and everything went black.


	5. Hope

As the world was wiped out of sight they sunk to the ground. For a moment they sat in silence, processing what had just happened. Echoes of the day’s events rushed through their head and they were overcome with a wave of emotion. They screamed but no sound came out. They hit their head against their knees and curled up, tears beginning to fall down their face. They stayed like this for a long time, in total emptiness of any sound or sight. Until they heard a shout.

“Is anyone there?” Instantly they recognised the voice. Their heart skipped a beat. They looked up and saw him, looking so lost and bewildered, with his brow furrowed and his hands clenched tightly. They panicked and willed themselves to be invisible. It seemed to work as he stared right where they were standing, only looking more confused.

“Who are you?” he shouted, the pitch of his voice higher than usual. They subconsciously hid their face from him even though they knew he couldn’t see anyway. They stood up and took a deep breath, pulling their sleeve across their face to wipe away their tears. They turned back to face him, blinked and took another breath.

“Asriel…” they said, trying to keep their voice steady. His eyes widened and his mouth gaped open. He shot round to face where they stood.

“Chara!” he cried with a strong mix of emotion in his voice. Chara imagined he felt the same mix of shock, happiness, nervousness and regret as they did. They wiped their face one last time before allowing Asriel to see them. Shock and disbelief was spread across his face but a smile was starting to form.

“What…?” he squeaked, unable to say anything more. Chara couldn’t speak either. They now stood face to face with their brother many years after they both thought they had died.

For a long time, they stared in silence with their eyes wide and mouths slightly open. Eventually Chara decided it was enough and moved first. They ran towards Asriel and pulled him into a tight hug.

“I thought I’d never see you again!” they whispered.

“Me… me too!” Asriel replied, still not fully over the shock. He still managed to smile widely. Looking at him filled Chara with regret. They remembered how happy they were. They remembered not being satisfied. They remembered their plan that had got them both killed. They felt so much longing for the life they could have had.

“Where are we?” Asriel’s question startled them. They didn’t have the energy to explain so instead they glanced at him and thought about Frisk’s fight with him. As they focused on it, it started to appear in front of them. Their heart raced as they recalled the excitement. They remembered every attack just like them and Asriel had played in their games. It was an epic battle against the God of Hyperdeath! It felt like going back to when they were truly happy, before everything went wrong. Asriel, however, seemed to have a different opinion of the fight. He watched in horror as he pummelled Frisk with attack after attack, killing them multiple times. But Chara had always known Frisk was going to make it, that everything would be ok. At least until…

“Why are you showing me this?” he said. His eyes looked close to crying. Chara decided that it was enough of this memory. This time they could hear Asriel speaking.

“Frisk, don’t you have anything better to do?” Asriel glanced at Chara nervously and then looked back at the image of Frisk. Chara suspected he was thinking about what he had said before. They weren’t hurt by it at all, but relieved that someone finally held them accountable for what they had done.

“My last memory…” he whisperd “why are you show me my memories?” Ariel looked at Chara. They sighed and quickly thought of something new to show Asriel. As they thought about it a huge yellow ball rose over the ground and they could see the shadows of the monsters against the orange sky. Asriel clearly recognised it. He reached towards the sun, as if he was trying to touch it.

“Oh my…” Their mother spoke. Asriel’s attention was immediately snatched away from the sun and he turned towards them.

“It’s it beautiful, everyone?” Their father added. Asriel turned to Chara and smiled widely, tears of joy streaming down his face. Chara remembered having a similar reaction. Seeing their plan finally fall into place after everything that had happened.

“Frisk” Asriel said in a barely audible voice, now looking towards Frisk “these are Frisk’s memories.”

“Yes” Chara replied.

“So we’re in Frisk’s head?”

“It took you long enough to work that out!” They chuckled, relieved that they didn’t have to explain it.

“But… why are you here, how long… why am I here?” He now looked just as bewildered as he had when he first appeared. It seemed Chara would have to explain it to him.

“Frisk’s DETERMINATION, it awoke me and you too. I’ve been here since they fell.” Asriel still looked confused. Chara breathed in and continued. “Can you still not see? Frisk wanted to save everyone and their DETERMINATION was very strong. Without realising it they saved us too in a way. They allowed what is left of our souls to reside in theirs.” As soon as they finished talking they dropped to the floor and tilted their head back in exhaustion. Asriel sat down next to them and put his hand on their shoulder.

“Why aren’t you happy Chara? This is what we always dreamed of. The barrier is broken. Mum, Dad, Frisk, they all returned to the surface. They’re going to be happy, you can too!” Chara wished they could still think like him. They wished they could erase the events from the past day. They just wanted them to be happy.

“Are you really that naïve, even after what the humans did to you? You still believe monsters can believe peacefully amongst the humans?” they spat at him. They felt bad for taking their anger out on him but he had to understand what the humans were capable of.

“Yes, I have hope, just like Frisk taught me!” He seemed unaffected by Chara’s bout of anger.

“Your hope is misplaced. The humans can’t accept anything that’s different to them. They hate each other. Do you really think they’ll accept monsters? Humans are evil and only a fool would think otherwise.”

“But…”

“Asriel, you know how I feel about humans and you’re not going to change that. Today has only solidified my beliefs.”

“But what about Frisk?”

“Frisk is… special. They’re different to most humans.”

“There are more like them.”

“Not enough!” Chara’s eyes flashed red. “If you really need convincing then look at Frisk memories from today.” Chara turned away and made themselves disappear again. They couldn’t let Asriel see them cry.

“How?” he asked. Chara didn’t answer. “Chara! Come back! Chara!” he screamed into the abyss. Chara stayed hidden. They couldn’t listen to his defence of humanity for any longer.

He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his head. Chara focused on the previous day’s events. They started to appear in front of Asriel. He jerked his head up, startled by the sudden noise.

“STOP, STOP EVERYONE… please” the image of Frisk kneeling beside a small pile of dust became clear. The sound rang through Chara’s head. They hated seeing it all again, but they had to show Asriel. The message seemed quite clear to him. He had already broken down into tears and was running towards the image in a desperate attempt to stop what was happening.

They only saw the highlights: their mother’s shriek of “Frisk!” as she was pulled away, Frisk standing in silence, overwhelmed and just as helpless as they were, the many bangs as monsters were murdered for each small step out of line.

Chara finally decided to show themselves again. This time they didn’t even bother trying to wipe the tears from their cheeks.

“Do you see now Asriel? Do you see what the humans are capable of?” All of the anger had disappeared from their voice.

“I don’t… believe this… it’s…. not fair. Frisk had so much good in them… how could this happen… after everything they’ve done.” He said between sobs. Chara sat beside him.

“I know Asriel. None of this is fair, but it’s reality.” Chara tucked their arm around his shoulder. He sunk his head further down so it was resting between his knees. Chara felt him sink into their body.

“Is Frisk going to be ok?”

“Yes, we’re going to help them. They’re going to be ok, I’ll make sure of that” they said firmly and to their surprised they actually believed it. Asriel laughed slightly.

“You care a lot about Frisk” he observed.

“As I said, Frisk is special. If there is any hope for humanity, it’s in them.” Chara leant back into Asriel and smiled. The both closed their eyes with a little bit more hope for the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chara and Asriel finally appear! I'm still not really sure how to write Chara but here it is anyway.  
> My tumblr is buttercuppie.tumblr.com


	6. The Hospital

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm starting to build up a bit of Frisk's backstory. Most of my knowledge of the foster care system comes from Bones so it's probably not accurate. Also if you watch Bones you might notice where I got the names from.

“…shooting a kid with a tranquiliser dart! What were they thinking? Honestly this kid’s lucky to be alive, if it had done any more than scrape them it most likely would have killed them.”

“I heard it was quite a chaotic situation.”

“A yes, the monsters. It is very strange. I barely believed the stories they told about the war when I was a kid. Still, the kid wasn’t going to harm them!”

“Has the arrival of the monsters been made public yet?”

“There’s been nothing official said but it’s already spread all over the internet. I heard people are starting riots demanding information.”

“The government does seem oddly silent on the matter. I guess they’re just as shocked as we are.”

Frisk listened in on the conversation. They still couldn’t see or move but their sense of hearing seemed to work perfectly. They wanted to get up, still full of rage, and do whatever it took to join the monsters. They tried to kick but nothing happened. The next moment seemed oddly silent.

“Oh it looks like they’re waking up!” Frisk heard shuffling and then felt a tingling sensation in their fingers. They began to build up a picture of their surroundings. A soft but thin blanket lay on top of them and their head was supported on a single pillow. The was something strapped around their arm and many bandages littered their body. They lifted their hand. It felt heavier than usual but seemed to work perfectly fine. Immediately they felt a hand gently push down on their arm.

“I don’t think you’re quite ready to be moving yet” a woman’s voice said. Frisk blinked. It was as if the light had just been turned on. At first all they could see was white but slowly the world faded into view.  
“Can you see?” she said. Frisk didn’t feel up to talking so instead they simply nodded. They could now see two doctors in the room with them, one next to their bed and the other sitting by a computer in the corner. The woman by their bed turned towards the man in the corner.

“Do we have and ID yet?” He quickly nodded and clicked something on his computer.

“Oh yes! Their name is Frisk. They’re a foster kid, reported missing about a week ago.”

“Frisk” she said, turning back to them “do you remember your family?

“Yes” the women looked relieved as she heard this. “But I’m never going back!” they added forcefully. She glanced nervously at the man out of the corner of her eye. He shrugged and curved his lower lip.  
“Why would you say that?” she said softly.

“I’m never going back” Frisk repeated stubbornly. They tried to roll over away from the women but their body still felt too heavy so instead they pulled the blanket halfway over their face. The woman bit the lip. She reached over to pull the blanket away but Frisk only clutched onto it tighter. She stepped away.

“I’m going to contact social services” the man said unsurely. The woman nodded and then sat in the chair next to his.

“I don’t think we’re going to get anything out of them.” After a moment of sitting in silence the woman got up and headed out of the door quickly followed by the man. Relieved to finally be left alone, Frisk pulled the blanket away from their face. Their eyes flickered across the room and rested on a small window. For a moment they considered running away but they weren’t sure if their legs worked properly yet and even if they did they had no idea where they were or where the monsters had been taken. It seemed like they’d just have to sit this one out. With effort they pushed themselves up into a sitting position. From there they could see the room a lot better. Their eyes were drawn to the computer in the corner. On the screen the noticed their name and a picture of themselves along with various details about them and boxes containing question marks. The photo was a very old one – not many foster families were particularly interested in taking pictures of the kids they looked after. They looked at the picture for a while, remembering their life when it was taken. They’d thought they’d never be able to go back to being like that but then they met the monsters. Everyone treated them with so much kindness, even though they were seen as their enemy. Everyone loved them and they loved them too. They’d though they’d finally found a place where they could fit in, but now that was snatched away from them. They were probably going back to a place where no one cared if they disappeared, just like before. Their eyes still stayed fixed on the picture.

_“Frisk! You’re awake!”_

The voice startled them. The looked around to find the source before recognising it. They’d heard it throughout their journey in the underground. At first they thought it was just another strange feature of the underground and they’d never paid a great deal of attention to it, but they now recalled hearing it just before they’d blacked out. They didn’t really feel up for talking so they sunk back down into the bed and pulled the cover back over their head. They shut their eyes and attempted to fall asleep.

Suddenly they realised something. Their eyes shot open and they bolted up so quickly that they almost hit their head on the bed post.  
“You’re from the underground!” they exclaimed.

_“Oh! So you can hear me. Yes, the underground was my home.”_ Frisk smiled widely at the reply. Not everything from the underground had been taken.

“Are you a monster?” The voice didn’t answer. Frisk felt a sudden panic that they had now lost them too.

_“Uh… sorry… can we not talk about me?”_ they said eventually. Frisk let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh…” They said quietly. They frowned slightly, disappointed that they wouldn’t be able to find out anything more about the monsters. They voice seemed to notice.

_“I’m sorry. I saw what happened yesterday. It was awful what those humans did, but I know you’re going to find a way to fix this, just like you did in the underground.”_ Frisk leant against the wall and closed their eyes. Everyone had so much faith in them and they weren’t sure they could live up to it.

“Humans aren’t like monsters” they said sounding defeated.

_“I know, but you still have to try.”_ Frisk didn’t feel any better. _“And I’ll do anything I can to help. I’m not going to give up until the monsters are happy. I promise you. Now will you make the same promise?”_ Frisk slowly lifted their head and nodded.

“I promise” they said with their voice now filled with DETERMINATION.

They were about to say more but they were interrupted by a conversation in the corridor. They heard their name and quickly hid themselves back under the covers just in time for when the people entered the room. They were led by the woman who had been with Frisk before and behind was a young man and a fairly old one. The woman and the older one moved into the corner of the room while the younger one pulled up a chair and sat by the bed.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Lance Sweets. I’m a psychologist. I’m just here to help you, not to report you to anyone or force you to do anything ok?” he smiled earnestly at them. “What’s your name?” he added. He already knew their name and Frisk knew he was just asking to seem more friendly. They didn’t respond.

“Ok” he said scribbling down notes on his sheet of paper. “It’s ok if you don’t want to talk at the moment, but I’d like you to listen to what I’m saying, ok?” Frisk didn’t want to listen but they still grumbled ‘yes’ knowing that he would continue to talk whatever their response was.

“I’ve heard you don’t want to go back to your old foster home. At the moment it does matter why, but I can assure you no one is going to make you go back if that’s not what you want. You’re clearly exhausted so you will be staying the night in the hospital. Dr. Brennan” he pointed to the corner of the room where the doctor stood “will be checking up on you to make sure everything is physically ok. Then in the morning you’ll see me and Booth” again he pointed at the corner “and we’ll help you find a nice family to stay with. I’ll be meeting with you periodically over the next few months to check up on you and see how you’re coping after…” he trailed off. Frisk narrowed their eyes. Even though he hadn’t said it they could sense that he meant the monsters. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Get a good night’s sleep” he finished with a smile. He lifted his hand as if he was going to pat their shoulder but quickly reconsidered it and recoiled his arm. Frisk didn’t bother to see what happened after that. They just wrapped themselves in a blanket. They closed their eyes and this time fell asleep almost instantly.


	7. Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took so long to write. Nothing much really happens, it's just Chara and Asriel having a bit of fun. It's a little bit shorter than I'm aiming for for each chapter but hopefully the next chapter will be up later today or tomorrow.
> 
> Also princessofderse made an amazing piece of artwork for this here: http://princessofderse.tumblr.com/post/145175689415/so-i-drew-fanart-for-buttercuppie-and-her-amazing

“So there asleep again now?” Asriel asked as everything went back to being black.

“Yep” Chara nodded. They were smiling widely.

“That was so weird! I was right there but Frisk couldn’t see me!” Chara nodded enthusiastically.

“I was so confused at first! you’re lucky that you had me to explain things to you.” They giggled.

“Yea, definitely!” He paused. “You seem really happy” Chara didn’t reply for a moment.

“Well… Frisk’s never talked to me before. I guess I’m just happy they finally did.”

“Oh, ok” He fiddled with his finger awkwardly. “Uh… when will I get to talk to Frisk?” he asked quietly. Chara wasn’t sure what to say, they’d become so used to being the only one in Frisk’s head.

“We’ll see how things go tomorrow. We don’t want to overwhelm them” Chara wasn’t sure why, but they didn’t think Asriel talking to Frisk was a good idea at the moment. Asriel looked a little disappointed but he nodded in agreement. Chara turned around and bit their lip. They wanted everything between them and Asriel to go back to how it was before. They wanted to just laugh, play games and be kids again. But so much had changed. They couldn’t just be kids anymore.

“Chara?” Asriel said questioningly. Chara turned back to face him. “Are you ever going to tell Frisk who you are?” Chara froze. They’d always avoided the subject of themselves. There was too much regret in their past. Asriel seemed to noticed their discomfort and looked down shamefully. “Sorry” he mumbled. Chara placed their hand on his shoulder.

“It’s ok. Let’s just think of something else to talk about” Asriel nodded, but didn’t say anything. Chara tapped their finger, trying to think of something to say. The two of them stood in silence. Finally, Asriel spoke.

“So you’ve been with Frisk for their whole time in the underground?” he asked. Chara nodded. “Could you tell me about it?” Chara’s eyes lit up. They nodded again. They remembered how much fun they had with Frisk.

“Yea! There were so many awesome things. It was strange how everything had changed and all the different people. I bet you’ll love-“ Asriel opened his mouth as if he was about to say something. Suddenly Chara remembered that Asriel had already seen everything. They frowned. “Wait, but you saw everything when you were a flower. Didn’t you?” They asked cautiously. Asriel visibly cringed at the memory of himself as a flower.

“Not everything, I just checked up on them to… uh… make sure everything was going to plan” he said solemnly. “Just tell me about your favourite bits!” he said much more cheerfully. Chara smiled again.

“Ok!” they said brightly. The began talking about the adventure. They talked about seeing Toriel again, waking up to the smell of butterscotch pie and listening to all of her snail facts.

“Do you remember that time she made you eat snail pie?” Asriel chuckled. Chara scrunched up their face and made a throwing up motion with their hand. They then moved on to excitedly talking about Papyrus and all his puzzles, waving their hands around wildly to try and replicate what his attacks were like. Asriel laughed along, ducking under Chara’s spinning arms. One of their movements was so fast that it sent them tumbling to the ground. After stopping his laughing fit, Asriel reached out his hand to pull them up.

“Maybe you should be a little more careful” he said beaming at them. Chara didn’t pay attention they were having too much fun. They continued telling the story, doing their best impressions of all the monsters and falling into fits of laughter every few minutes. Occasionally Asriel would interrupt, talking about the things they used to do in each place.

“I used to love all the stories Gerson told us!” He said as Chara recounted what he’d told Frisk.

“Me too! Especially the ones about you from before I met you” Asriel blushed.

“But they were always so embarrassing!” he protested.

“That’s why I loved them so much” Chara said teasingly. Asriel lightly punched their arm in protest.

Soon Chara was so wrapped up in their story that they forgot about everything else, and with Asriel alongside them, they felt like they were truly alive again. They dramatically acted out all their favourite parts of the adventure and Asriel joined in with any bits he knew. With what seemed like no time at all passing, they reached the point where Frisk entered Asgore’s throne room for the first time.

“It looks so beautiful with the golden flowers there now!” Chara exclaimed, recalling how the light reflected off the golden petals and danced across the walls, lighting up the whole room. The remembered how it was before. When they looked after it with Asgore and excitedly told him about the golden flowers from the surface. They were the only things they missed.

“Do you remember when we were playing in the garden and I pushed you over and you got muddy and I fell in after you. They when we got home Mum got angry at us for ruining our clothes?” Asriel asked them.

“Oh yea, like this!” Chara said, pushing Asriel over.

“Hey!” he shouted and retaliated by tripping Chara over with his leg. “No one pushes over the God of Hyperdeath without consequences!” He shouted, trying to sound scary but struggling to hold back laughter. Chara laughed. They had played this game many times before.

“Oh really” they challenged “come and get me then!” They quickly got up and sprinted away as fast as they could. Asriel shot after them.

“I use Shoker Breaker!” He shouted, throwing imaginary lightning bolts at them.

“I use disappear!” Chara responded before willing themselves to be invisible. Asriel halted and looked around.

“Hey! That’s not fair. How do you do that?”

“I’m not going to give away my best weapon” Chara said, creeping up behind Asriel. “I got you!” They shouted, jumping on top of him and letting him see them again. They both tumbled onto the ground and lay beside each other, breathing heavily.

“I win” Chara said, smiling smugly at him.

“Only cause you cheated” he complained. Chara only responded by looking smugger. They both stayed on the floor, still out of breath, but smiling widely. Neither of them moved until the black that surrounded them was replaced with the image of a hospital room.


	8. Waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so much longer to upload than I said it would! I got really stuck on one part for ages. Also I have 10000 words now??! That seems like a lot to me.

Frisk woke up to a loud clap of thunder. The glanced out of the window and saw a dark grey sky and heavy rain pouring down. This weather seemed more fitting for their situation. Apart from the storm everything seemed oddly silent. They looked at the clock. It was only six o’clock. They leant back and rested their head back on the pillow.

“Hello” they said to the voice, still not knowing their name.

 _“Hi Frisk!”_ they responded immediately. _“Are you feeling better now?”_

“I still don’t know who you are.” Frisk said, ignoring the question. The voice didn’t reply. There was an uncomfortable silence.

“You could at least tell me your name” Frisk said. Their eyes constantly flickered towards the door to check that no one was coming.

 _“But...”_ the voice protested. Frisk frowned in response. “ _Fine, it’s uh… “_ They paused for a while. Frisk began to get impatient. _“Chara”_ they said finally. Frisk gasped.

“You’re Chara!” they said with their eyes wide. “You’re a human just like me.”

 _“Yea I am”_ they said, laughing. Frisk tilted their head in confusion.

“Why are you laughing?”

 _“It’s just, I didn’t expect you to react like that.”_ Frisk was even more confused. They couldn’t think of any other way that they could have reacted.

“I don’t understand”

 _“Well after everything you heard about me I thought… never mind.”_ They trailed off. Frisk pushed themselves up into a seated position and leant their head back against the wall.

“Are you scared?” they whispered, hoping Chara would hear them.

_“What?”_

“Are you scared?” they repeated, louder this time.

 _“Uh… I…”_ Chara mumbled unsurely.

“Of the humans I mean, of what they can do” Frisk said with their trembling slightly.

_“Scared? I don’t think so. I know what they can do and I know to be cautious of them. Well maybe that is scared.”_

“I am” Frisk said, biting their lip.  “What are they going to do the monsters?”

 _“You don’t need to be scared Frisk. Remember the promise we made?”_ Frisk nodded. _“Nothing is going to happen to them. I will not fail them again.”_ Frisk heard a flash of anger in the last sentence.

“Chara?”

_“Yes?”_

“Did you ever have a real family?”

 _“Of course! With monsters”_ they replied immediately. Frisk could tell that Chara knew that wasn’t what they meant.

“Before?” they questioned cautiously. There was no response from Chara. “Sorry-“ Frisk began.

 _“No”_ Chara interrupted. “ _Not one I remember.”_

“I did” 

 _“You did?”_ Chara said, surprised. Frisk nodded.

“My Dad made me nice brownies. He let me help sometimes. My mum was very clever. She was busy a lot of the time but when she was home she always spent time with me.” Echoes of their parent’s voices rang through Frisk’s head. They smiled to themselves and then tears built up in their eyes, as they always did when they thought about their family. “They died” they said simply. Chara stayed silent, urging them to say more. “We were driving… something went wrong…” they struggled to get out the words. “I woke up in a hospital. They were gone and I was taken away.” Tears where now pouring down their face. “Now it’s happening again.” They looked down. Puddles of water were forming on the sheet below.

 _“I have one memory”_ Chara said. Frisk looked up and wiped their eyes. _“We were in a field, full of golden flowers. They were laughing. They were celebrating something I think. That memory was the only good in humanity I ever knew… until seeing you of course!”_ they added hastily. Frisk smiled, trying to picture the scene Chara had described.

Suddenly their thoughts were cut short when Dr. Brennan burst into the room. As soon as she walked through the door she looked at Frisk and seeing their puffy red eyes and the small puddle on the sheets, froze with their mouth open. She stood still for a moment then her eyes flickered between Frisk’s face and the bed. Frisk just stared blankly back. She bit her lip and turned her head to the side. She leant back so that she could see into the corridor. Frisk took the opportunity to clean their face a little.

 _“It will be ok”_ Chara reminded them. Frisk nodded subtly just before Dr. Brennan sighed and shifted forwards towards the end of the bed. She took a deep breath and started to talk.

“Look, kid. I know things aren’t great for you right now, but they are going to get better. I’ve never given much merit to the field of psychology but Sweets is great. He’ll fix you up with a nice family and keep checking up on you.” Frisk scowled. They didn’t want anyone checking up on them and they didn’t want to be put with yet another family who hardly knew or cared about them. Dr. Brennan seemed to have figured out that she wasn’t going to get any response from Frisk, so she went to sit down at the computer with her back turned to Frisk.

 _“Are you going to be ok?”_ Chara asked. Frisk turned up the corners of their mouth slightly and nodded. _“Remember I’ll always be here for you, whenever you need me.”_

“Thanks” Frisk said as quietly as possible, hoping Dr. Brennan wouldn’t hear them. She didn’t even flinch.

At that moment Sweets walked in. He looked at Frisk first and upon seeing their red eyes, lifted his head slightly, taking a mental note of it. He talked to Dr. Brennan first.

“Are they ok to leave?” he asked. Dr. Brennan nodded.

“Yes. There’s nothing wrong with them physically. They just needed to rest.”

“Great that’s great” he said nodding. “Do you want to come with me Frisk?” Frisk lay back down in their bed. They knew what was going to happen next and they had no interest in going.

 _“Be brave Frisk”_ Chara said. Frisk took a sharp intake of breath and got out of the bed. The legs felt a bit wobbly, which was probably usual for someone who had been lying down for the past two days.

“Come on” Sweets encouraged. He beckoned them towards him with a quick hand movement. Reluctantly they walked out into the corridor. It seemed eerily familiar. Doors ran down both sides in alternating places, each of them had a room number in gold letters pinned onto it. The walls were littered with children’s drawings, some so old that they had almost fully curled up. It was Illuminated by a single window at the far end and a series of lights down the middle. Towards the end it opened up into a larger area with some comfortable looking sofas. It was almost an exact copy of the corridor Frisk had walked down after they lost their parents. They breathed heavily and tried their hardest to not show any outward signs of suffering, aware that Sweets was observing them carefully. Even still, Chara caught onto it.

 _“It’s going to be fine. You’ll be ok. You’re never going to be alone. I’m here remember.”_ Chara’s constant encouragement soothed them and allowed them to keep their breathing fairly steady. They avoided any eye contact with Sweets and any doctors that popped up out of the rooms.

As the full seating area came into view Frisk noticed a man sitting on one of the armchairs. They vaguely remembered seeing him the day before but couldn’t recall his name. Sweets sat down on the sofa opposite him and tapped next to him. Frisk sat down but made sure to keep as far away from Sweets as possible.

“This is Booth” Sweets said gesturing to the man opposite. “He’s come to talk to you about a possible family for you to stay with.” Frisk quickly glanced at him then looked away, not responding.

“Hi Kid. You don’t want to go back to your old foster home, right. Can you tell me why that is?” He crouched down so his face was at the same level as Frisk’s. They didn’t say anything. Sweets lifted his hand up and move it towards Frisk. The curled away from it. He immediately retreated his hand.

“I promise that we’ll be completely open with you if you’re open with us. Can you promise me that?” Sweets said softly. His words reminded Frisk of the promise they made to Chara. They looked up, hoping Chara would say something. They picked up on the clue.

_“Just remember that you are brave Frisk”_

Frisk closed their eyes. They thought for a while and then slowly lifted their shirt a bit, revealing a long thin bruise alone their stomach. It was much better than it had been but was still clearly visible. Sweets held his hand over his mouth and Booth leant back into his chair, shaking his head.

“They didn’t care about me. Unless I was doing something wrong. I knocked over something expensive. They got angry and hit me.” Sweets and Booth both listened intently, careful not to do anything that would stop them talking. “I didn’t want to get hurt again. I heard people disappeared on the mountain. I wanted to disappear so I never had to suffer again. I ran away.” They didn’t say anything further than that. Sweets moved around to get a better view of the bruise and his face melted into horror as he saw the deep purple line.

“We’re going to make sure they get punished for this” he said. Booth nodded in agreement. “And Booth has found you a nice new family. I promise they won't ever hurt you. No one is going to hurt you again.” Sweets said reassuringly.  

“They should be arriving at reception soon. We’ll go and see them shall we?” Frisk heart started pounding. They couldn’t bear to think of any family other than the monsters. They closed their eyes and nodded slightly. They got up almost robotically and followed Booth down a different corridor, stilled gripped with fear.  Sweets walked alongside them and offered his hand to Frisk. They didn’t take it. They kept walking trying not to think.  

Finally, they reached the end of the corridor and Booth opened the door.

 


	9. The family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I have quite a lot to do at the moment, so updates will probably be a bit slower but when it gets to summer (in about 4 weeks) I should be able to make up for lost time!

Reception was a similar room to the one before. The sofa's sat in the same arrangement but where there was a wall in the previous room, this one continued. There was a noticeboard on one wall which contained various leaflets and posters, some having fallen onto the floor. The far wall was made up of a huge glass windows and an automatic door. The patch of carpet just in front of the door was wet, evidence of the thunderstorm from earlier that morning. Frisk's eyes fell onto the last thing in the room: the desk and most importantly what stood in front of it.

 A woman leant against the surface and appeared to be telling a story of some sort. She was talking quickly, giving the receptionist no opportunity to do anything other nod along to her story. Next to her a man was attempting to entertain a restless child who was much younger than Frisk. Despite the mans effort the child was still wining and demanding to go home. Each of the adults were too focused with what they were doing to notice as Booth walked into the room, followed by Sweets and Frisk. The child was the first to point them out. She tugged at her father's sleeve and pointed towards them. He looked towards where his daughter pointed and his eyebrows shot up as he saw them. He quickly tapped his wife's shoulder to alert her of their presence and then took a step forwards and extended his hand towards Booth.

"I'm Jared, this is my wife Pam and our daughter Katie" he said, gesturing his head towards his family.

"I'm Seeley Booth, I believe we talked on the phone" Booth replied taking his hand. The man nodded. "Thank you for stepping up with such short notice. We appreciate what a big task this will be for you."

"No problem. We couldn't ignore a child in need of a home, could we?" He turned towards his wife. She nodded absentmindedly, preoccupied with keeping Katie from wandering out the door.

"Yes, well as I said we greatly appreciate your help. Take a seat. We have a lot to talk about." Booth smiled and held his hand towards the sofas. Jared glanced nervously at Katie. Luckily the receptionist seemed to notice and offered to take her to the children's ward of the hospital where she would hopefully find some toys to play with. Pam gratefully accepted and the two of them sat down. Sweets quietly told Frisk to sit opposite them.

"Ok, lets get started. This is Frisk. As you know their situation is quite... unique." They nodded in understanding and looked at Frisk. Frisk tilted their head down, uncomfortable with the attention all on them.

"I'm Dr. Lance Sweets" Sweets said, drawing the attention away from Frisk. "A psychologist. I'll be keeping an eye on Frisk over the next few months to see how they're getting on." Frisk's eyes opened wide in alarm. They didn't want to stay with these humans for months. They didn't know them yet but something seemed off about them. Besides they planned to be reunited with the monsters and staying with Toriel as soon as possible.

"We're going to allow Frisk one week to settle in and then they will start school. We have arranged for them to be allowed into your local state school. In addition to this they will receive extra tutoring to ensure that they don’t have any difficulties with the work. Sweets will be monitoring their progress until he is sure they have fully settled in. To start with he will meet with them on Saturday mornings to discuss how everything is going for them and any problems that they might have” Booth explained, with Pam and Jared nodding along to every word. When Booth paused, Pam spoke up.

“Is there anything special we need to do for them. Do they have any special needs?”

“Not that we are aware of at this time” Sweets replied, glancing at Frisk “but given what has happened to them in the past, we can expect some difficulties.”

“You mentioned that you have very little information about what happened to them while they were… ugh… away.” Pam’s face scrunched up slightly in disgust as she said it. Frisk noticed her and her husband share a nervous glance as they thought about the monsters and they were clearly avoiding the subject. Frisk’s eyes narrowed.

“That is something that I will be discussing with Frisk when they feel ready. You will be told anything that I think is essential for you to know. For their sake anything else will be confidential. It is important that you don’t push them to do anything they’re not comfortable with” Sweets said firmly.

“Do you have any further questions about what you need to do or anything else you would like to know?” Booth asked. Jared and Pam looked at each other and then both nodded in unison. “Ok, now it’s time to take them home. Sweets would like to come with you to make sure the transition goes as smoothly as possible. Would that be ok with you?”

“Yes of course” Pam said, smiling “Will he be ok getting back?”

“Oh yea. I can catch the bus back” Sweets replied. Frisk felt some reassurance in Sweets coming with them. Out of all the humans they had met since returning to the surface, he was the only one not to show any kind of prejudice towards the monsters.

“Ok. If we’re done here, I’ll go and get Katie and Pam will show you to the car” Jared said. Pam and Booth nodded in agreement. As Jared headed off into the corridor, Pam help her hand out to Frisk.

“Do you want to come with me?” she offered. Frisk kept their hand firmly by their side and kept their eyes narrow. Pam recoiled her hand and frowned.

“Come on. It will be best for you to have as much time as possible to settle in.” Sweets said. He reached out to pat Frisk on the back put quickly retracted his arm and flicked his hand towards the door instead. Reluctantly, Frisk got up and started walking towards the door. Pam smiled and cheerily headed out.

For the short walk to the car, everyone was silent. Sweets walked alongside Frisk while Pam walked ahead, weaving between cars until they reached a large black one with three rows of seats.

“Jared and Katie will sit in the middle row and I’ll be at the front. You two can sit in the back” Pam said as she opened the back door. She reached her arm round Frisk to pull them forwards. Frisk ducked under it and edge closer to Frisk. They didn’t want to let her touch them.

“Try to avoid touching them unless they explicitly say you can” Sweets said with a hint of concern in his voice.

“Sure” Pam replied. “You two can get in the car, I’ll wait outside and see if I can spot Jared and Katie.” Frisk clambered into the car, followed by Sweets who pulled the door shut.

“Are you ok?” He asked. Frisk was surprised by his question. They didn’t really know how they felt about everything that was happening. They question just seemed to difiult to answer at this time, so instead they turned away from him and leant against the window. “It’s ok if you don’t want to talk. You should never feel pressured to talk about anything if it makes you uncomfortable, but I can’t help you if you don’t tell me how you’re feeling.” Frisk could tell his concern was genuine. They wanted to answer his question but they didn’t know the answer themselves.

“I don’t know” they said, frowning in frustration.

“That’s a perfectly acceptable and understandable answer. So much has happened to you, much more than anyone knows and so many people around you are assuming they know what you’ve been through. To be able to admit you don’t know how you feel is a great step in trying to make it through a situation like this.” Frisk turned to face. He smiled at them. “Can you tell me how you felt yesterday morning, before you arrived at the village?”

“I was happy” Frisk said immediately “I knew that everyone around me cared about me. I knew that I’d done something good. I had hope.” They smiled at the memory, but that smile quickly faded. “And now I don’t.” They felt tears build up in their eyes.

“There is still-“ Sweets words were cut short by Pam opening the door. Frisk quickly turned their head away so she didn’t see the tears that had fallen down their face.

“Jared and Katie still haven’t turned up. I’m just going to the hospital to check they’re ok. Will you two be ok to wait in here for a bit longer?”

“Yes, that’s absoulutely fine.”

“Great!” she said cheerily “Jared’s probably just having a hard time dragging Katie away from the toys. She had gets really attached to them sometimes. Well see you in a bit!” She waved and pulled the door shut, laughing to herself.

 “Don’t be ashamed of crying. You’re allowed to be upset or angry. None one is going to hurt you. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Do you trust that that is true?” Sweets asked. Frisk nodded wiping away their tears.

“There is still hope for the future. I can tell you’re the kind of person who doesn’t give up easily. Through your determination, the furture you imagined is still within reach” Sweets reassured them. Frisk smiled at his words.

“That’s what they said to me. Every time I…” they almost said ‘died’ but quickly stopped themselves “felt like giving up, they told me to stay dertermined. Even when they were all being taken away everyone had faith in my DETERMINATION.”  

“It must be what sets you apart from everyone else, what makes you so special. They all saw it and I can too. You are talking about the monsters I assume?”

Just as Frisk was about to reply the car door opened and they could hear a screaming child. Jared popped his head around the door.

“Sorry about that, I was a bit dificult to pry her away from her toys. I’m sure she’ll calm down as soon as we start moving” he said apoligetically, before shutting the door and helping Pam to get Katie strapped into her seat.

Luckily it wasn’t too long until everyone was safely strapped into the car.

“Well I guess it’s time to go to your new home Frisk!” Jared said loudly, his voice almost drowned out by Katie’s wails. The car pulled out of the car park and they began the journey to another place that Frisk would be forced to call home.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay for procrastinating writing the actual plot with random backstory! Also sorry this is later than I said it would be, I got kinda wrapped up in homestuck.

Once Katie had calmed down the car was eerily silent. Pam had tried to make conversation but after only reciving mumbles from Frisk she gave up. Frisk stared absentmindedly out of the window, watching the trees and houses blurr together as the car zoomed past them. Their eyes drifted from the outside to around the inside of the car, edventually falling on Katie.

Her head was leant against the back of the chair and was tilted slightly to the side. Frisk couldn't see her face but they presumed that she was asleep.  For a while Frisk watched her chest move up and down peacefully and silently. It was hard to see her as the annoying todler who had been screaming less than fifteen minutes ago. They started to think about what she would be like when she was older, if they would get along. They imaginged taking her to school and helping her with her homework. Suddenly they realised that they were thinking about a future where they stayed with this family. They tried to push those thoughts aside, but imagining the fun they could have with a sibling was all to familiar to them.

_Years earlier_

_Frisk had just finished their enormous slice of chocolate cake. They looked back and forth between their parents, smiling proudly. Their mum laughed and reached across the table to wipe the chocolate off Frisk's face._

_"It's all over your face. You must have only eaten about half of it!" She chuckled. At this Frisk ducked under her arm and began licking around their lips._

_"I'm going to eat it all!" They squeeled happily. They attempted to get some of it with their fingers but instead they spread it all across their face. On any other night their parents would have insisted they let them wash it off but tonight they just watched smiling to eachother._

_"Done" Frisk said finally._

_"Come to the bathroom with so we can get you all cleaned off and then we can go into the lounge to talk about something very exiting" their dad said, picking them up from the chair. Frisk's eyes widened._

_"Important?" they gasped. Their parents nodded._

_"Very" their mum assured._

_"Exiting?"_

_"Yes that too" she said beaming._

_"Why can’t you tell me now?" They winded._

_"Be patient Frisk" their dad said gently. You'll find out soon enough._

_"Fine" Frisk said, frowning grumpily, but it wasn't long before they were beaming again.  Frisk stood perfectly still as their dad wiped their mouth, eager to hear the news. As soon as he finished Frisk grabbed his hand and pulled him into the lounge as quickly as they could. They jumped onto a seat next to their mum._

_“Tell me! Tell me now!” they squeeled excitedly._

_“I’m having a baby!” She announced, beaming. Frisk looked up at her with their mouth and eyes wide open._

_“A baby” they said in awe._

_“Yes” their dad chuckled “you’re going to be a big sibling.”_

_“Where is the baby?” Frisk asked._

_“Here” their mum replied, pointing at her belly. Frisk looked curiously at it. They reached forward and lifted their mum’s shirt. There was no baby there, just a lump._

_“There’s no baby there” they said grumpily. Why would their parents pretend there’s a baby when there isn’t? Both their parents laughed._

_“It’s inside mummy” their dad explained. Frisk remained frowning._

_“But how do I play with it if it’s in her tummy?”_

_“You have to wait for it to come out” their mum said, pulling Frisk into a hug._

_“How long does it take?” they said, looking at the clock._

_“You’ll have to wait 6 months”_

_“SIX MONTHS!” Frisk exclaimed “why does it take so long?”_

_“The baby has to grow before it is ready to live outside my tummy” their mum explained._

_“Was I in your tummy? I don’t remember being in your tummy” Frisk asked._

_“You were, but you were very young then so you can’t remember it” she told Frisk gently._

_“Is it nice in there?” they continued to question._

_“Yes the doctors say the baby is very happy in there”_

_“Ok” Frisk said, finally running out of questions. “Daddy can we play now?” they pleaded. He smiled at their mum and then nodded. Frisk dragged him out of the lounge._

They hadn’t just lost their parents in that crash, they’d lost a sibling too. They had spent so much time imagining what that sibling would have been like and for a while they’d even pretended to play games with them. There had been siblings in some of the foster homes but they’d never really cared about Frisk or wanted to play with them.

 _“I saw that memory”_ Frisk almost jumped in surprise hearing Chara’s voice. _“I know you can’t reply but if you like I could tell you a bit about having a sibling.”_ Frisk smiled slightly to let Chara know they wanted to listen. _“It’s like having a sentient shadow who’s always want to talk to you” they chuckled “They are annoying sometimes but you always know you’re never alone. You can always rely on them to be by your side even at the hardest of times, even if you don’t realise you need them. They are also so much fun. You can play with them and share your imagination with them. You can never really be bored when they’re there. No matter whether you argue or get annoyed at them sometimes, you will always love them and they will always love you. Well at least that’s my experience with siblings. I had all I ever could have wanted with the monsters.”_ They suddenly stopped talking. Frisk smiled fondly at the idea of a sibling, but their smile quickly turned into a frown as they realised they would never have a chance at something like this. Chara noticed their frown. _“I can be your sibling.”_ Frisk looked up in surprise. _“Well… if you want. I can be like your sibling. I can play with you and I’ll always be there for you. I might even annoy you sometimes!”_ Frisk turned to the window to hide their huge smile from Sweets, they didn’t want him to get suspicious of anything. Suddenly they couldn’t wait until they were alone.


End file.
